Health & Fitness
D.A.R.E. Graduation at Saint James School
All 57 students of Saint James Elementary School fifth grade class, were honored for their participation in the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.
The Red Bank Police Department along with Saint James School is honoring the fifth grade class for graduating from the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.
All 57 students took the pledge to stay off drugs as they graduated from the program on April 15.
As part of the 10-week D.A.R.E. program, each student was required to write an essay on what they learned in D.A.R.E. and why they think it is important to be drug and violence free. The graduation ceremony featured two winning students reading their essays, which highlighted the ways they learned to take a stand against drugs.
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For their hard work those students, Gianna Juliano and Stephen Attardi each were presented with a 10-speed bicycle.
“The D.A.R.E. program taught me that making the right choice about drugs and alcohol, which is to stay away, is the only choice in order to be a good student, a good citizen, and make my family proud!,” said fifth grade essay reader, Gianna Juliano.
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The message was also clear to fifth grader Stephen Attardi: “In D.A.R.E. I’ve learned that drugs can slow down my coordination and reflexes and can cause short-term memory loss. I also learned that alcohol could slow down my brain and body. I feel very strongly about staying away from these unhealthy choices because I want my body to be strong so I can play sports and live a long life.”
D.A.R.E. is a preventative program the goal of which is to equip youth with skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. The D.A.R.E. program uses a police officer to teach a formal curriculum to students.
The lessons focus on providing accurate information about alcohol and drugs while teaching students decision-making skills and providing them with ideas for alternatives to drug use.
Red Bank Police Officer Dawn Shields, who taught the weekly lessons at Saint James, explained life is all about making choices and good things normally happen to people who make good choices. She explained how important it is for young people to surround themselves with other kids who are positive influences.
Each D.A.R.E. graduate received a D.A.R.E. T-shirt and a certificate recognizing his or her achievement.
